South Africa Hop Launches New Beer Flavor

Dirk van Tonder of South Africa admires a freshly poured ‘African pale ale’ that he brewed using a hop so new it is only known as the J-17-63 hop. (VOA/Darren Taylor)

The small conical-shaped flower of the humulus lupulus plant is the hops that gives beer its bitterness and flavor (photo courtesy South African Breweries)

Moritz Kallmeyer (left) likes the balanced fruity flavor of beers brewed with South Africa's new J-17-63 hops that were available at a craft beer festival (photo courtesy Drayman’s Brewery)

A South African Brewery employee sorts mounds of hops in preparation for brewing some of the nation's popular standard labels. (photo courtesy South African Breweries)

South African brewer Dirk van Tonder tests South Africa’s newest hop with two of his signature beers, a German-style weiss, left, and a pale ale in the foreground (VOA/Darren Taylor).

South African Breweries generally uses less flavorful hops to make beers such as the popular Castle Lager (photo courtesy South African Breweries)

At South African Breweries facility in Alrode near Johannesburg, a packer prepares stacks of bags of hops for shipping. (VOA/Darren Taylor)